Nothing you can do
by mcflyandfaxcompletemylife47
Summary: Max is abused by her father, Jeb, but when a new family moves into her neighbourhood, in the same situation as her, she can't help but to get to know them and their past. is there anything they can do to change her feelings? T-'cause i'm paranoid Max
1. Birthdays & bad school endings

Chapter 1.

This is NOT how regular teenager's birthdays are supposed to go. That's one thing I know for sure. Being chased down an alleyway by your drunken step-father doesn't happen to the average teenager on their sweet 16, I guess I should be grateful Jeb stayed sober for the first 3 hours of my birthday, although, I don't think he did that for me.

"Max, get your butt back here before I call the cops on you!" Ya, right. Like the cops would come and see that he's drunk and chasing me with a freaking baseball bat, see my bruises along with Angel and Gazzy's, and still attempt to help him. Like that would ever happen.

I raced around the final corner on the way to Iggy's house. One more hedge and I'd be free. Well maybe for the next hour or so, but long enough to get Angel, and Gazzy fed. I scaled the side of Iggy's house and burst through his balcony doors just in time to see Jeb come around the corner confused as to where I was.

"Holy crap max! You scared the living sh-"I held up my hand as a signal for Iggy to be quiet. I peeked through the window just in time to see Jeb curse under his breath and turn back towards my house.

"That's the closest he's ever gotten. I thought he might actually see me." I was panting. Hard. Ig looked just as worried as I did. All of a sudden his face lit up. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Maxie, happy birthday to you!" Iggy was practically screaming by the end of his little song. With that big goofy grin of his plastered on his face, he looked just like he did when we were 7.

_We were running through the field away from our school. It was the last day of school in grade 3. Iggy and I were being chased by Ari, the school bully. We were singing 'the song that never ends' as loud as we could, not caring that the biggest boy our age, who could knock us out with one punch, was bolting towards us. _

_I looked over at Iggy and I had never seen him happier. His smile was reaching ear to ear and I knew I must be looking the same._

_We were excited, my mom told us that as soon as school ended, if we came home to my house as fast as we could, she would take my best friend and I out to get ice cream. Iggy and I were just about to reach the path that lead straight to my house as my big ugly step-father Jeb blocked our path._

"_WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING MISSY?" Jeb was screaming right into my ear. His breath smelt funny to me but I didn't know the smell. _

"_RESPOND TO ME DAMMIT". _

"_Home."_

"_And who's this little fella you're bringing with you?" Jeb reached out to Iggy, right before he made contact I stopped him "don't touch him Jeb, he didn't do anything." For that I got a slap on my face. It was stinging but I couldn't let Jeb hurt Iggy. He never did anything to Jeb; Jeb didn't even know who he was. Mommy and I decided that Jeb didn't need to know about any of my friends. I wasn't sure why but she said it was for the best._

_Jeb reproached Iggy, "I said don't touch him!" Jeb growled and turned back to me. "What did you just say" he was talking slowly so I knew I just did something wrong. I closed my eyes and tensed up my face waiting for the blow, but surprisingly, it never came. I was about to open my eyes when I heard a loud smack a foot or two away. _

_I opened my eyes to see Iggy tensed up in a ball on the ground holding his face, a slight whimper escaping his lips. "Max?" He was practically whispering to me, "who is that, Max?"_

_Jeb got furious at that comment. He pulled me by the collar into his van and buckled me in. "don't you speak of this boy" he stated as he stormed back to Iggy. "Not a word."_

_With that Jeb marched back to the van, slammed my door, then his and sped away. As I looked back at Iggy, he looked confused and worried at the same time. He brought his fingers to his lips, pretended to zip them shut, turned an invisible key, and placed it in his pocket. His eyes were confused but I knew he wouldn't say anything. He was truly a great friend. Jeb yelled at me to turn around, but as I was doing so, I saw Iggy turn towards his house, out of the corner of my eye, patting his pocket where he had placed the invisible key._

I was rocking, I knew that much, I could feel arms around me as I was being rocked back and forth. All I could hear was a ringing sound but distant voices were fighting to get through to me. Jeb's voice was still yelling at me to turn around so I must have been mixed up between memories and reality.

"Shh, Max? Can you hear me Max? It's all going to be OK. Shh, Jeb's not here you lost him, calm down" I recognized this voice as, Iggy's mother, Mrs. Griffiths'.

Mrs. Griffith always seemed to be there for me. Whenever I was confused she always had the best advice. If I was scared, I could run to her house and I knew she would protect me from all the fears I had. If I was worried about Angel or Gazzy, I could bring them to her house and she'd take care of them. It was never a problem because Jeb never noticed.

I looked up at her to see a very concerned look upon her face, a motherly look. I felt tears prick my eyes as I thought about my mother. She had died on the last day of school when I was 11. The day after Angel had been born. Jeb said it was an accident having to do with Angel's birth, but I knew better. I knew he had killed her. Today was _not_ going to be a good day.

The rocking began again as I was starting to come around. I was in Iggy's arms cradled against his chest. He'd grown up to be so strong but he never worked out. I'd always been jealous of him for that because I'm just as strong but I have to work out 24/7 to keep up. He was even _blind_ and he could still whoop my but!

Iggy's face was impassive but looking into his eyes let me know his true concern. He's the cheeriest person I know, but the second anything bad happens he feels horrible and feels this need to make it all better. He looked down at me once the whole way to his living room and looking into his eyes had scared me. His non seeing eyes held so much pain. I knew he felt bad for me but these days I was wondering how much he was willing to get hurt on my behalf.

Ig put me down on the sofa and sat beside me, staring at noting on the opposite wall.

"Max, honey?" I looked up at Mrs. Griffiths. A smile came over her face. "Happy birthday."

After Mrs. Griffiths left the room I looked over at Iggy. He looked as if he were in pain. "Ig?" his face just twitched at the sound of his name. "Iggy? IGGY!" he finally flinched. Iggy looked towards me and muttered something under his breath. "What?" I asked. Iggy didn't mutter, he never muttered. He was usually blunt and got right to the point.

"I said I'm sorry." he replied looking down at his hands. "For what? You didn't do anything Ig." "That's exactly my point Max. Maybe if I had done something when I first found out about, about, all of… _this_, you'd be off somewhere celebrating your 15th birthday with all of your friends and not at my house remembering some of your worst memories." He looked up at me, his eyes pleading for me to understand what he meant, but the thing was, I did understand.

He was always suggesting I try to fit in at school and talk to more people and spend my Friday nights out having fun, rather than watching comedies with him in his basement or with his mom because he had a date. But that's what I loved most. Every week I waited to spend time with my best friend and his sister, Nudge, so we could do stupid useless stuff for hours on end.

"Ig," I stated "you think you need to be sorry?" I stood up from the sofa to show him I wasn't hurt now.

"Yes, I DO" he stood up and faced me. Man, has he grown or what! He was a good 3 inches taller than me now.

"Ig, come on, really? You and I both know if you told anyone back then I would be away at some foster home, hating my life, missing YOU, and hating you for telling anyone. I'll be fine. I _am_ fine."

"Yeah, yeah, I know just sometimes I worry when Angel and Gazzy come over at 2am and you're not there, then when I see you the next day, you look like you've just been pummeled." He smiled slightly. "Well, now that I know you'll be fine… HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX!"

He threw his long arms around me and enveloped me in a bear hug. I felt two other pairs of tiny arms wrap themselves around my legs. Angel and Gazzy.

Once I was released from my attackers, I knelt down to see how Angel and Gazzy were doing. "How are you guys?" I asked ruffling Gazzy's blond curls.

"We're fine Max." Gazzy replied with a grin. "Happy birthday." He held out a small box to me.

"Max! I think you should open my mom's and mine first so you know what Gazzy and Angel's present is for" Ig stated looking from Gazzy to me. Gazzy grinned sheepishly. He knew Iggy was right. Although Ig was fifteen, and almost sixteen, and Gazzy was only eight, they got along great. It was nice to see Gazzy whisper something to Iggy and to see him actually smile. What can I say? I was caught up in the moment.

Then I realized something. "Hey, what are you two whispering about that's too important that Angel and I can't hear it?" I looked at the two of them with a questioning look upon my face.

They glanced at one another then simultaneously blurted out "NOTHING!"

That's never as good sign with two pyromaniacs. "As long as I don't get burnt and nothing blows up on me today, it's all good."

Maybe I was wrong, maybe today _would_ be a good day after all, and I hope so.


	2. The power of cake

**Everything and everyone is human!**

Today had been a great day. In fact, it had been wonderful. Iggy and his mom had gotten me a wireless laptop with internet. I didn't have wireless internet at my house but the Griffiths' did, and they'd been nice enough to add me to their network.

Gazzy and Angel got me an iTunes gift card for $50. When I'd asked them where they got the money, Gazzy mumbled something and all I got out of it was Jeb, wallet, drunk, doesn't know. For some reason, I'm OK with that. Jeb never gives us any money and he'd never notice the missing $50. He's never sober enough to count his money.

Right now, we are walking to, my best girl-friend, Nudge's house. Nudge invited Iggy, Gazzy, Angel and I over to her house to celebrate my birthday along with her new neighbor Ella Martinez. I know, it's weird to have someone you don't know at your birthday party, but Nudge ensured me that Ella was super nice and I would love her. I always trusted Nudges judgment of other people. She just knew everything about them before they spoke.

"Max, I'm tired" I heard Angel's sweet voice behind me. I looked ahead, I could just see Nudge's house in the distance.

"We're almost there sweetie, if you're tired when we get there you can sleep on Nudge' couch, I'm sure she won't mind" I looked back to see Angel dragging her feet as if she couldn't walk any further. Sometimes I forget she's only 4.

"How about, when we first get there, we have cake so you can sleep but you won't miss out on the cake?" Angel's eyes perked up the second the word cake came out of my mouth.

"Okay!" she practically screamed. Wow, the things cake can do to children.

I looked ahead to see Iggy and Gazzy racing to Nudge's front step. How a blind dude can race full speed and not trip still amazes me. "Hey Angel, you wanna race me to Nudges?" and with that she was 10 steps ahead of me. Man, for a five year old, could she run or what?

Iggy and Gazzy were still on her doorstep when Angel and I arrived.

"Where is Nudge and why does it always take her ages to open the door?" Iggy sounded exhausted but I could tell by the look on his face he just wanted cake.

"Patience Iggy or you don't get cake!" Nudges voice exclaimed from behind us. We all spun around to see Nudge looking perfectly put together, and another girl, who must be Ella, with long brown hair.

"Geez Nudge, you don't have to give me a heart attack on my birthday"

"Then you tell Iggy to stop complaining so much" I knew she was kidding, but when I looked over at Iggy, he was blushing as red as an apple. I decided to use that opportunity to whack his arm. He immediately stopped and looked off into the distance.

"Well" Nudge started after an awkward silence, "we'd better get inside if any of you want cake-OMG! I almost forgot Ella! Sorry just you're so quiet I forgot you were even there! Guys, this is Ella Martinez" she gave a slight wave, "Ella this is Angel, she's 4, almost 5, Gazzy, he's 7, that's Iggy, he's 15 like us but his birthday's in a week, so he's in grade 10 with Max, oh! And he's blind so if he ever gets this creepy look on his face and it seems like he's staring through you, don't be too freaked out, that's Max" she pointed at me " and she turns 16 today!" she took a huge breath "so _now _we can go inside, ok?" We all just nodded and stepped inside.

As it turns out, Ella Martinez is one of the nicest people I know, so far. I mean, I've only know her for about 6 minutes. She's in grade 9 with Nudge and she goes to our school, so she can eat lunch with us. Some people think it's strange that Iggy and I eat lunch with a ninth grader, well, I guess now it's two ninth graders, but Nudge is way more mature than the others, and from what I can tell, so is Ella.

We just finished the ice-cream cake Nudge got for me. It was delicious. I think I'm going to have to get her to pick out my cake again next year.

"Max, can Gazzy and I go outside and play?" Angel's voice brought me out of my trance.

"Sure honey" I said "stay close to the house for the next few minutes so I can get Nudge, Iggy and Ella outside with us. OK?"

"OK Max, we will, bye" she waved her small hand at me as if she would be leaving for days. The thought of it broke my heart. If I didn't know where she was all the time, I would die. I'd never know if Jeb was after her or if she'd be safe from all the dangers of the world. She was my sister, but it felt more as if she were my baby. My mother died right after she was born, or should I say was murdered, by Jeb.

I remember that day as if it only happened yesterday._ I was headed home after school to see my newborn baby sister, Angel. Mommy said that was going to be her name because she was beautiful and she was right. Angel had blue eyes, blond ringlets and she was a spitting image of Gazzy and herself. I looked more like my father than the two of them. Gazzy and Angel were Jeb's children but I wasn't. Mommy said that I looked like my real Daddy but I never got to meet him. He died before I was born, and Mommy didn't have any pictures of him, not even one._

_But it was OK. Jeb was my "dad." I met him when I was 6 so I never called him daddy. It just didn't seem right to me. But I loved him when he wasn't drunk and yelling at us, or hurting us, or forgetting to feed us, or making us do everything for him, or running from him, or hiding from him. OK, so maybe I don't love Jeb and I never have, but he's the father of Angel and Gazzy and I can't just leave them there with him and mommy! Mommy would get worried about me, then forget Angel and Gazzy, or be so sad she wouldn't act like a mother so the kids would be stuck with Jeb, and I wasn't going to let that happen._

_"Max?" Jeb said with a sad voice. "Take Angel and Gazzy and go to some other friends house and don't tell me you have no friends because I know you still talk to that boy I caught you with the last day of school in grade 3!" Jeb's voice was rising slowly so I just nodded and headed over to Iggy's house._

The last time I had seen my mother was that morning before school. I knew that Jeb killed her. I just knew, but I hadn't told anyone. I'm pretty sure Mrs. Griffiths' and Iggy have their assumptions but they never speak of it. They just know I'm scared of him and he's mean to the three of us.

"Max…Max?.. MAX!" Iggy's voice was breaking down my barriers. He was also holding my shoulders and shaking my violently.

"What!" I exclaimed.

"Have you heard _any_thing of what I've said for the past minute or so?" He sounded annoyed, but I didn't blame him, I zoned out a lot.

"Ummm… No?"

"Geez Max, can you try to stay on this planet for more than 5 minutes some time?" I could hear the teasing in his voice and the slight smile approaching his lips.

"I'll try sometime. So what were you saying?" I asked, trying to get back on track.

"I was wondering if you could hang out with Ella and, you know, ummm, put in a good word for me?" his voice got really high pitched at the end and that's when I knew he was head over heels for this girl. I always thought it was wonderful that he could get to hear what a person was saying, without having to see their looks and just see them for who they really are. His was blushing furiously by this point, then I realized why, I hadn't said anything and he thought I was just avoiding him.

"Sorry Ig, I just zoned out again! But yeah, of course I'll hang out with her and talk to her for you." He started heading back to the kitchen where Nudge and Ella were.

I caught up to him and lowered my voice "oh and Iggy, you might want to stop blushing before you walk into the kitchen because you know Nudge will be full of questions." That just made him blush even more but at least he stayed put for a bit before walking back in.

"Hey Nudge, Ella? Do you guys want to head outside with me so I can keep an eye on Angel and Gazzy?"

"Sure Max but Gazzy came in 5 minutes ago"

"But they just went outside a minute ago" I was beyond confused.

"Nooo, they went outside forty minutes ago, and Gazzy's right over there on the couch." Sure enough, there he was watching some random cartoon.

My heart started to race "But then where's Angel?" the second those words came out my lips I heard it.

The sound of a loud crash out front, Angel's tiny scream and the sound of a drunken man yelling incomprehensible words.

Iggy's eyes flickered in the direction of me. "_Jeb" _he'd whispered it so quietly I almost thought he'd said nothing.

"_crap,_ crap, CRAP!" I was yelling but I was already on my way to the door.

**review, review, review!**


	3. Greg

**whoooopss... DISCLAIMER: I DON't OWN MR OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS! MY FRIEND STEPH OWNS STORY LINE AND SHE LETS ME POST! SHES USUALLY HERE WHEN I POST THEM... like right now...**

**ok, all better:)**

**i'm writing this with my friend, as you might have noticed, she comes up with the storyline and then i write it, but since i was away the past month i've been writing and not posting so sorry about that! that is why i'm posting a few chapters today. **

**on with the story:D**

I was bolting towards the door through the living room but I was so damn determined to get outside that I tripped while jumping over the sofa and I rammed head first into the door. Ow. I felt extremely dizzy and my ankle was killing me but Angel needed me so pain didn't matter. I tried to get up but my vision was getting all blurry and I couldn't feel my ankle anymore.

"Max! No!" Nudge was trying to keep me down but it wasn't working too well.

"It's okay Max I'll go outside and get her!" Iggy sounded frantic as he opened the door. "Where is she though? I can't see!"

Suddenly, "Do. NOT. Touch. Her." Came from a deep voice outside and a menacing growl right after those words were spit out.

We all turned so we could see out the door. A guy about my age with black hair that covered his eyes, wearing all black clothing, was facing a man that was obviously the drunk. The dark buys fists were clenching and unclenching at his sides, his whole body tense.

The drunk rolled his eyes and continued to face Angel. He was cornering her! "Angel!" I yelled but my voice wasn't all that loud because my throat had clenched up. I was not going to lose her too. I tried to get back up again but right as I did so, Ella burst into the foyer.

"Max no! It's ok! F-Nick won't let him hurt her!" Ella sounded so honest that I could do nothing but believe her.

"Who the hell is F-Nick?" I urgently screamed at Ella.

"Nick is my brother, the guy in black! I swear to you Max, he won't let Greg touch her now that he's out there with Greg. Don't go outside, Greg will just get madder and hurt you! Nick can only protect one person at a time. Please don't!" Ella was pleading now.

I turned back to see how Angel was doing. Her face was streaked with tears and she was curled up in a ball I the corner, but Greg hadn't touched her yet. She was just so strong.

"I said DON'T touch her." Nick was sounding more and more deathly by the minute.

"The thing is, Nick, you don't make the rules, I do. So you can just go back inside and finish whatever you were doing!" the drunk was slurring his words but since he was yelling, I could hear them all.

"NO. Let the girl go. You can beat me up if you like, but let. Her. Go." Nick looked ready to pounce. If I were Greg, I'd be running the hell away from there by now.

Greg charged towards Nick and hit him head on. But Nick was fast. He grabbed the front of Greg's shirt and punched him in the face over and over again. With each punch he was speaking to him. "Do…not… hurt…anyone...else…ever…again…or…you…will…pay…"

With that, Greg fell to the ground unconscious. God, I was going to have to thank Nick a billion times. Maybe more.

Angel uncurled from her ball and looked up, shocked. She was obviously trying to stop herself from crying. All of us over at Nudges were speechless. Angel didn't see us because she never looked over to us. We weren't moving or making any sound either so she couldn't hear us.

Nick stood up and walked over to Angel. When he got there he knelt by her side "Are you okay?" he was speaking so softly to her I was motionless. I didn't think someone so fierce and dangerous sounding could be so gentle.

"Y-yes." Angel's voice was all jerky and her jaw was quivering. The tears were about to pour over, in her eyes… and mine.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Nick asked, his voice gentle as ever.

"Home is where a family lives and feels happy and a place you can always go when you feel sad, right?" Angel was practically whispering.

Nick looked confused "Yes, it is."

"Then I don't have a home, I have a house." Angel started bawling right then and there.

Any movement that had started here at Nudges house froze. She was right. We don't have a home. Angel, Gazzy and I go to a house every day, but not a home. I started tearing up. I quickly wiped my tears away. I couldn't let people see me cry.

Nick only hesitated for a split second before he wrapped his arms around Angel and pulled her to his chest. My whole body tensed. I couldn't let him hurt her. Ella's voice appeared next to my ear "it's alright Max, he won't hurt her."

I started to feel light headed, oh yeah, I tripped into the door. I looked over to Angel and Nick. Angel had wrapped her small arms around his neck and was soaking his black t-shirt. He was holding her as if he was never going to let go. He flipped his hair the slightest bit and I could see his face. He had sharp features and a face never showing emotion, or trying not to at least. As if he could sense me watching him, his eyes flickered with something and he looked up at me.

Looking into his eyes was like looking into a black hole. They just consumed you. It was odd though. His face was hard and lifeless but I could see straight into his soul. I could tell by just looking in his eyes, his life wasn't easy. It had never been easy. He was abused, just like I was. He hated life, just like me and he would rather be put in danger than to see Ella or anyone else get hurt. I wanted to know him. I wanted to hear his story, and I wanted someone to tell my story to who actually understood what it was like.

Angel lifted her head to look at Nick. His eyes held my gaze for a moment before he looked down at Angel. She whispered something to him and then shut her eyes and curled up to him. He gently nodded before smoothly standing up, with her in his arms, and walking over to me.

He stood above me looking down at me for a moment before looking up at Ella with a questioning glance. "Right, well you see Max heard screaming so she ran to the front door but on the way she jumped over the couch, and tripped then rammed her head into the door." By the end of that Ella was out of breath. She did NOT have lungs like Nudges.

His face was still expressionless as he looked down at me a said "Cool, you want your sister back?"

"Ya, that'd be nice." I tried to get up but realized Nudge was sitting on my leg. "Nudge, could you, you know, get off my leg so I can actually feel my foot and maybe stand up?"

She looked at me like I was insane then she realized she actually _was_ sitting on my leg. "Oh my gosh Max, I'm soooo sorry! I didn't mean to make your leg fall off but you know I was just so afraid you were going to run up to that guy and beat him up but I really don't want you to go to juvie. Last time it was too close, I didn't want to have to visit you in prison or at the police office. I mean last time I was there, there were like, 3 different guys hitting on me and it was just NOT cool. Isn't it weird? I was like 13, and it was the police officers hitting on me! I mean they were, like, 40. Geez couldn't they hit on someone their own-mmmppphhh." Iggy had clasped his hand over her mouth.

"Right sorry" Nudge said as Ig released her mouth. "I should probably get up now, shouldn't I?"

We all just stared at her. That girl had quite the motor mouth. She got up and offered me her hand. "Thanks" I said getting up. I was still dizzy and my head was pounding but whatever, as long as I had Angel back, all was good.

I turned to face Nick and get Angel back. He sensed what I was doing and attempted to pry her off him. Yes, I said _attempted_. She wouldn't let go. He chuckled a bit while smiling the slightest bit at one corner of his mouth. "You can let go now" he whispered to Angel. "No, you're comfy." He shrugged and sat down in the doorframe joining our little circle.

I was astonished. Angel never let anyone hold her other than Mrs. Griffiths. Not even _me_. I'll admit it hurt but I was just too damn tired to care.

The rest of us sat down in the circle. There was an awkward silence as everyone just looked from person to person, well, except for Iggy. "Soooo, "Iggy broke the silence "anyone want to tell me whose voice I'm hearing?"

"Sorry Iggy" I said "Nudge let 'er rip" I lay my back and head against the wall as Nudge started speaking.

"Well I think Nick should introduce himself because if you haven't noticed yet, I don't know him, Max." Nudge was actually sounding serious for once.

"Wow, that's the shortest sentence I've ever heard you say" I noted in awe. "Same." Iggy and the Gasman said simultaneously.

Nick didn't say anything for a good minute. He just stared at Ella with piercing eyes. "FINE!" she finally broke. Nick looked pleased with himself. "Everybody, this is my brother, Nick. He's 16 and he doesn't talk much, as you've probably noticed. Nick, this is Nudge she's 15, and in my grade. That pale guy over there" she said pointing to Iggy, to which he replied sarcastically "thaaanks." "Well, it's true" she muttered before she continued. "As I was saying, that's Iggy, he's 15, and in your grade. That guy over there is Gazzy or the Gasman, he's 7. The little girl you're being clung to by is Angel, she's 5, and last, but not least, she's Max," Ella said pointing at me. "She's in your grade too. She's 16 today, it's her birthday. So be nice" to that Nick smirked.

"Fine, ruin my fun" he muttered sarcastically but quietly. He looked up at me and said "Happy birthday, Max." he then looked around without moving his head. "Oh and by the way, my name's Fang not Nick."

Nudge started babbling again "oh, so that's why Ella was all F-Nick! I thought she just forgot your name it was starting to get suspicious to me." Nudge trailed on about something. I was looking over at Fang. Fang suited him so much better than Nick. His eyes started looking _into_ my soul. I was reading him, just as he was reading me.

I was hoping that I'd get a chance to hear his story because at this point in my life, I _really_ needed someone who understood me. And I think I've just found them.

**R&R?**


	4. Fang

**i don't own MR, JP does. But steph and i own the stories!**

**if you noiced in the first chapter i said Nudge and Iggy were siblings, they are! they just don't live together and you'll find out soon enough!**

**Oh, and this is mostly from Max's POV unless i say otherwise!**

I had gotten up and was lying on the sofa. , my head was absolutely _pounding_. It felt as if my brain was going to explode inside my skull. I had told Nudge I was going to nap on her couch but really, I was just lying down to see if my head would stop hurting. Last I checked, Ella and Nudge had gone upstairs so Nudge could finish her tour of the house. Iggy and Gazzy were off somewhere building a bomb, no doubt. Pyromaniacs just have to be left alone sometimes, unless you want something to randomly blow up on you. And Fang was still sitting by the door with Angel sleeping on him.

I opened my eyes to check and saw a concerned Iggy sitting in a chair across the room. His sightless eyes were staring somewhere near the door. _Crap_. He's going to do something stupid, thinking he's protecting Angel. I slowly turned my head towards the door to check on Angel hoping Iggy wouldn't notice.

"Where do you think _you_'regoing?" Iggy growled, his voice low.

"I was just checking on Angel, Ig" I replied quietly. I didn't want to wake Angel up. She rarely slept in the first place, this was just a bonus.

"Oh, Max, good. Now that you're up, I have to go home now. My mom texted me, she wants me to make dinner." Yes, he did say 'make dinner'. Being blind doesn't stop Ig from doing much, just from seeing. "I can take Gaz with me. Apparently, he's staying at my place tonight, along with Angel because it's Monday tomorrow. School?"

"Right! I knew that!" I remembered now. Was it Sunday already?

Gazzy appeared from behind the couch "Sure you did. Whatever we're going now"

"Ya, bye" Iggy added. "Drop Angel by before you head home, I mean, back to your house." Then he quickly shut the door. Something was up with that boy but now wasn't the time to figure it out. I rolled over and watched Angel sleep for a few minutes. It was relaxing to know she _could_ sleep.

Tonight wasn't going to be fun. I could leave Angel and Gazzy at the Griffiths' place, but _I_ would have to go face Jeb no matter what. If I wasn't there, I couldn't cover for Angel and Gazzy, nor could I cover for myself.

I was pulled out of my thoughts to the sound of someone's phone blaring Three Days Grace. "I, HATE,-" Fang's eyes quickly flicked open. Obviously he _hadn't _been sleeping like I thought. "EVERYTHING-" Fang obviously recognized the caller because he looked absolutely pissed. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and threw it full force at the wall across the room. "ABOUT Y-y-o-o-u-u" the end of that line stuttered as the phone hit the wall. Then all noises stopped.

I looked over at Fang confused. I raised an eyebrow at him "don't like them very much do you."

"Greg." He looked up at me. Hurt filled his eyes but he quickly dismissed it.

"Umm, is he your Dad?" I was wondering if he and Ella just lived there, or if this 'Greg' guy was their dad.

"Father. Not Dad." He said looking down at Angel and shifting positions. Angel hadn't even flinched. She was defiantly out for the next hour or so.

"Appropriate ringtone." I noted. It definitely was.

"_I_ think so" He wasn't a man of many words, was he?

"Umm, does he… ever, does he ever, uh, _hurt_ you or Ella?" I knew it was kind of a personal question but I wanted to see if he was in the same situation as me.

"He wouldn't dare lay a finger on Ella. She's his pride and joy. He would never hurt her." He was speaking in a monotone voice as though he'd told many people the same story before. He looked up at me, a dejected look on his face.

I sat up. "What about you though? You said he could beat you up if he let Angel go." His eyes twitched the slightest bit. He sighed. "Do you even have to ask?" he questioned me simply. He leant his head back against the wall and shut his eyes. "I can spot someone like me from a mile away and I know for a fact you can too. It's only outsiders who can't" he'd muttered the last part just as Nudge and Ella stepped in.

"OH, great! You guys are up!" Nudge started "so do you wanna stay over for dinner? Where are Iggy and Gazzy? They'd better not blow anything up. What about you Ella, do _you_ wanna stay over for dinner? You're all welcome to if you want. It's Max's birthday and my parents knew I was having people over so they're not gonna be back for like 6 hours! Ooohh, its 6 o'clock now! They won't be back 'til midnight. Max! We could totally have, like, a Party! Angel could sleep in my room and-"

"Sorry Nudge" I interrupted. "I have to get Angel over to the Griffiths' for the-" my phone interrupted me.

"Hello?"

"Hi Max. It's Mrs. Griffiths. My sister just dropped by last minute and there's nowhere comfy for you or Angel to sleep tonight. Gazzy can stay in Iggy's room but could you sleep at your house tonight? Sorry for the last minute call."

"No, that's fine. I was planning on going there anyways. I'll just bring Angel with me."

"Okay honey, you have a nice night! Bye!"

"Yeah, bye." I muttered after she had already hung up.

"Scratch that Nudge, but we have school tomorrow, if you haven't noticed, and I need to get Angel and I back to our house before Jeb thinks we've gone missing. Maybe some other time, Okay?" I looked over to Nudge to make sure she was okay with it.

As it turns out, when I said 'some other time', Nudge thought I was excited but sorry. At least she had the second half right. "Okay!" she squealed. "I'll plan it all! Just let me know when you're free and I'll get everyone over here!"

"Well, I should get going" I stood up and walked over to Angel and Fang. Fang stood up and tried, _again_, to pry Angel off of his shirt. Fang and I both looked down at Angel. Well, _he_ looked down. Fang was a good 4 inches taller than me, so, I looked up at her. After staring at her for a moment, I looked up to meet Fangs eyes.

I stared at him in disbelief. "What did you do? Drug your shirt? This is just getting insane. She won't let me carry her but she's stuck to you like glue?" I was in awe.

Fang just shrugged and tried to peel Angel's fingers off his shirt one by one. _That_ woke her up. "What are you doing?" if she hadn't just woken up, she would've sounded mad but she just sounded sad.

"We have to go Angel. Jeb's waiting for us." I spoke to her softly.

"No." she sounded stern.

"What? Why not?" She never talked back to me! What's so different now?

"Because I'm asleep. Duh." That made me chuckle.

"No you're not Angel. People who are asleep can't talk." I pointed out. "We need to get going so let go of Fangs shirt, and let's go"

She whispered something to Fang.

"We both know that's not going to happen." The side of Fang's mouth curved into a half-smile.

"Yes. It is." Angel muttered then gripped Fang's shirt so hard it was about to tear.

I sighed "What does she want now?" I was exhausted. I just wanted to get home before Jeb flipped out at me.

Fang met my eyes "She wants me to carry her home."


	5. Home?

**Disclaimer: i don't own mrjust the storyline, JP owns the characters**

"Angel, Fang has to go home too. Just like us, so please, _please_ get down"

"Fang?" Angel looked up at him with her 'bambi' eyes. This was _not_ good. No one could say no to her with those eyes.

Fang bit the corner of his lip and looked up at me. I could tell he was giving in. "You don't have to. It's not _that_ hard to say no… Ok, maybe it is, but- whatever. I really don't care. We just need to get home before Jeb gets mad. Let's go." I turned on my heel and headed to the door.

"Bye Nudge. I'll see you tomorrow." I just walked right out hoping Fang and Angel were behind me.

We walked in silence for about 5 minutes, and then Angel's breath evened out and slowed. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Fang looked my direction and raised his eyebrows.

"She never sleeps, ok?" Fang just shrugged. Now that was _really _getting annoying.

"Sorry" he muttered "I'm not the best for completing sentences. Or even talking for that matter."

"So, what school are you going to?" I asked.

"Davidson valley? Something like that. You?"

"Davidson heights? And I go there." He nodded his head.

"That's the one. Are they strict about attendance?"

"Skip a lot?" he nodded "yeah, same here. They're not too strict, as long as you're not failing anything."

"Good" he smiled to himself. "Wait, are there uniforms?"

"Nope" I said popping the 'p'. "Don't worry; you'll get to wear black every day" I was looking up and down at his all black attire.

"You're one to speak" he looked me up and down with emphasis. Then I realized what I was wearing. Black skinny jeans, a black Breaking Benjamin concert tee and black converse.

"Hey, I wear colour sometimes"

"Ya well, I wear dark red and navy blue occasionally." He smirked while looking around and shook his head.

"What?" was he laughing at me?

"I just realized I have no idea how to get back to my house and I left my cell at Nudge's." So he was smirking at himself? I've only known him for a few hours and already he seems like a completely different person.

"I'll print you a map." I said sarcastically, but I actually would. I didn't want to be the reason he was lost his first day in town.

"Well, we're almost there. Wake Angel up, would you?" he was about to wake her up when I heard yelling. "_Crap_, that's Jeb. He's definitely drunk." He stopped and moved into the bushes with me.

As we approached the house, Jeb was searching the yard yelling my name. He was _so_ pissed at me. I couldn't take Angel home to that.

"Hey Fang, can you stay here and watch? If Jeb lets me off easy I'll come back and get Angel. But if he doesn't just take Angel to Nudge's ok?"

He started to speak."I'm not letting-" I cut him off.

"No. if Jeb pulls me into the house you're going to wake Angel up and have her to lead you to Nudges. She knows the way. Ok? "

He clenched his jaw shut and nodded. "Do NOT follow me. I can't have Jeb hurt Angel ok. Please just go to Nudge's. I'll be _fine._ See you at school." I gave him a weak smile and headed towards Jeb, bracing for the worst.

FANG POV

I watched Max walk towards that Jeb guy. Her body was tense. I backed into the bush a little further so he wouldn't see Angel or me.

"MAX! Where the hell were you!" Jeb reminded me of Greg. "I need you inside, NOW." He grabbed her arm roughly and dragged her towards the door. He was so drunk he was stumbling. Max looked my direction with a sad look on her face and nodded the tiniest bit.

It took every ounce of will power in me to not jump out and beat the crap out of Jeb. He slammed the door and I turned around to get Angel to take us back to Nudges. He'd better hope Max is fine tomorrow or he won't be.

**sort of a short chapter but it was more like a filler so, yea...**


	6. Ugh, School

MR Chapter 6

Ow. Last night had been painful but I knew I couldn't complain, if I did, Angel and Gazzy would pay. Speaking of Angel…

I texted Nudge and she said Fang dropped her off last night without any explanation. I was glad Fang hadn't mentioned the Jeb situation because I'd never told anyone but Iggy, and now Fang. I was going to have to thank him for that.

I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom hoping I looked well enough for school. I had bruises on my wrists, arms and legs but I could cover them up with clothing so it wasn't a big deal. I grabbed some clean black skinny jeans and a purple shirt. I put a black lightweight sweatshirt over that to hide the bruises and pulled on my plum Chuck Taylor's.

I could hear snoring coming from Jeb's room. Thank God I wouldn't have to deal with him this morning. I quickly ran my brush through my hair and ran down the stairs. I checked my phone and Mrs. Griffiths was going to take Gazzy to school for me. Nudge also texted me and said she would walk Angel to her school which was on the way to ours. I quickly texted a 'thanks' to both of them and ran out the door.

I checked the time. 7:34. I had to be in homeroom by 7:45. It was a 25 minute walk. _Crap_. I ran to school in a record time with 2 minutes to spare. As I was rushing past the office, I saw a black blur open the door. Fang.

I skidded to a halt and walked into the office smoothly. I snuck up behind him and tapped his shoulder. He froze immediately. Whoops, I forgot having a father like Jeb made you fidgety like that. He turned around giving me a death glare but the moment he realized it was me, he stopped. "Oh, it's you."

"Sorry" I whispered stepping beside him in line. The person in front of us was arguing with the secretary about some teacher. Typical. Davidson Heights wasn't all that well known for its good teaching staff. The teachers were horrible.

The kid in front of us stormed out of the office exasperated.

"Ms. Ride. What have you done now?" the secretary looked up at me expecting some elaborate story.

"Nothing Mrs. Mortuary, I swear. I was just helping my friend Nick, here sign into school" I pointed at Fang.

"Alright then, Mr. Martinez, here is your schedule. Max, could you please show him around?" I nodded "oh, and Nick, don't get into Max's habits. Well then have a nice day."

As we were walking out of the office Fang raised an eyebrow at me. "Habits?" he questioned.

"Skipping, breaking stuff, swearing in class, flipping off teachers, fist fighting, talking back, and a whole lot more." I sighed. I really wasn't the _best_ student.

"Ah, I get it. No worries, I won't take on your habits, I'll just fall back into my old ones." Now I was suspicious.

"Really, and what might those habits be?" this I _had_ to hear.

He counted on his fingers as he went. "Skipping, vandalism, breaking stuff, swearing "ferociously" and using offensive language on school property, fist fighting, talking back, using attitude, fighting with teachers, and I'm talking _fights_ here, and a hell of a lot more I'm just too damn lazy to list." His voice trailed off as he pulled his schedule up to his vision.

"What's your schedule?" he handed it to me. I looked it over. "That's just creepy. I have the exact same schedule as you, same classes, same teachers, and same lunch. Everything at the same time as you."

"So where we headed?"

"Art class" I replied with a smile. "The best class ever."

"And why's that?" He looked over at me smiling at the crazy expression on my face.

"Because, if you're good at art, like me, our teacher, Mr. Evans, respects your 'artistic creativity'" I air quoted that part. "But if you just took the class as a free ride through high school, she yells at you and criticizes you until you drop the course. It's pretty funny. 13 people have already dropped the class. There are only 16 of us; well I guess now with you, 17 of us left." I took a huge breath.

"Are most of the slackers gone?" wow, was he obsessed with school or something? He just listed things that make him a bad student and now he's all interested about _art_ class of all classes.

He must've noticed my expression because he spoke "they piss me off." He looked down. "My old schools art class was full of them. My teacher just stopped teaching. It was like having a free period but I'd actually like to leave having learnt something."

"Well there are some." I stopped walking outside the door. Fang stopped, glanced at the door then turned back to me. "There's this girl, Lissa, and she's a total slut. She has Mr. Evans on a leash. He listens to, and believes _everything_ she says. So Lissa and her 'clique' are still in but everyone else is really in the class to learn stuff. "

"_Fantastic_" he said with heavy sarcasm. I rolled my eyes and pulled open the door.

Mr. Evans noticed me immediately. "So nice of you to join us, Ms. Ride."

I held my hands up as a sign of innocence "Mrs. Mortuary asked me to escort our new classmate around, geez." I headed to my seat.

"Oh, Nick, is it?" Fang nodded in response. "Take a seat anywhere; we were just starting talking about charcoal drawings."

Lissa was already flirting with him. Fang just ignored her and looked over to me. I patted the desk next to mine. He stalked over as Lissa eyes bugged out of her head. She _never_ got rejected. Now she was just going to have to learn.

The class phone rang as Mr. Evans was about to begin again. "One moment class" he asked as he stepped out the door. Everyone started talking the moment the door clicked shut.

Fang turned to face me. "Why is it no one sits near you?"

"Rumors" he raised his eyebrows in question. "Last year, this girl, one of Lissa's friends, who I had issues with went missing. When she returned home, they sent her to an insane asylum because she had gone crazy. Lissa told everyone I did that to her so now they all avoid me. I don't mind though, they just leave me be, well except for Lissa, we still have some problems."

"Alright then." Fang pulled out his sketch pad just as Lissa stood up. She glared at me then walked over to Fang.

I groaned. Fang eyes flicked up and met mine before he slowly turned around to Lissa's voice.

"Hi, I'm Lissa. You're Steve, right?" Lissa was totally in flirt mode. She calls them Steve by 'accident', they correct her and flirt back, they go out for a week, she dumps them, Lissa moves on.

"No." Lissa looked taken aback. This wasn't starting out well for her.

"Then what is it, Eric?" she giggled playfully.

"No." Fang replied simply.

Lissa looked frustrated but she was trying to hide it. "Rick? Come on, I know that's your name."

"No, it's not."

"Nick, then?"

"Yup" he popped the 'p' while looking bored. Lissa looked pleased with herself.

"So Nick, do you want to sit at my table?" Lissa asked.

"Uh, No." he said in a blunt manner.

"Hmmppfff, whatever, you just let me know if you change your mind. Maybe tomorrow." Lissa walked away furious.

"How about never" He mumbled as he turned back to me.

"What time does this class end?" He acted as if Lissa never even talked to him.

"10 after 9."

He checked the time on his phone. Obviously He'd gotten it back from Nudge's. "Wanna skip the rest of class" he asked seriously.

"Hell yes." I stated a little too loud. Everyone just stared at us as we packed up and left. This was going to be a great day.


	7. Past Lives

MR Chapter 7

"_Maximum Ride and Nicholas Martinez to the office please, that's Maximum Ride and Nicholas Martinez to the office." _ The intercom buzzed off.

Fang looked over to me "you said they weren't strict on attendance." he was speaking in an irritated voice.

"I think Lissa ratted us out" it was definitely something she would do.

He nodded. "Well I'm actually gonna go 'cause I don't want Greg to have to come." Fang stood up and brushed dust off his clothes. We were sitting under the 4th staircase at school. No one ever used it, so it was a great place to go while skipping. "You coming?"

"Ya, I think I will. I'm not really in the mood for detention." He reached his hand out to me. I took it and got a shock from his touch but he hauled me up. "They really need to vacuum under here, or at least dust." I was just trying to change the subject. It was slightly awkward.

Fang and I walked to the office in silence. Sure enough Lissa was walking out right then. I shot her a death glare. She saw mine and stuck her tongue out at me. Real mature. She was about to turn and walk away but when she looked at Fang, her eyes bugged out of her head and she practically _ran _away.

I turned to Fang to ask him if he knew what her deal was but when I saw his face I understood. He had the death glare of death glares. If I were Lissa I would be running too.

After she was out of sight he kept staring. "Fang?" he just started to twitch. I was starting to worry. I snapped my fingers by now he was shaking, his left eye was twitching and his fists were clenching and unclenching by his sides.

"Fang! Snap out of it!" I was shaking his arm, that wasn't helping either. I couldn't think of anything else to do so I just decided to slap him.

"Holy Mother of God, Max, what was that for?" he was just flat out yelling at me. His jaw was hanging open and his face was all red where my hand had made contact.

"Sorry, sometimes I forget my own strength" I muttered. I felt bad for hitting him so hard but he was creeping me out.

"Wait, was I, like, _shaking_?" I nodded slowly confused. I was about to ask him about it but he spoke before I could. "Some other time, Max, some other time." I shut up and walked into the office.

"Go right in kids" Mrs. Mortuary was obviously expecting us because she never looked up from her screen.

We walked into Mrs. Killer's office, yes I know 'Mortuary, Killer' they all have to do with death. There have been many jokes around about the matter.

"I've been informed that you two were skipping, but that's not why you're here." I gave Fang an 'I told you so' look. "You two are here for music related reasons."

I looked at Fang, who looked just as confused as me, then at Mrs. Killer. "What do you mean 'music related'?"

"I'm glad you asked, Max. Scouts, from Julliard School of music, were glad to hear the two of you now go to the same school. They would like to come and hear you perform. Max, I've hear you sing, and your voice is phenomenal. And I've seen videos of you Mr. Martinez. You also have a phenomenal voice. Oh, and welcome to Davidson Heights." Mrs. Killer looked between the two of us for a while before she realized neither of us were going to speak.

"Well, what do you say? Would you like me to tell you you're interested?" I bit my lip and looked over to Fang he was playing with his rings while looking down.

"I don't think so. That's great to hear and all, but I don't think my father would even consider allowing me to go."

Fang looked from Mrs. Killer to me, then back to her. "Same here."

Mrs. Killer just stared at the two of us open mouthed. "You kids are 16. Do you know how often scouts for _Julliard_ go anywhere for 16 year olds? Never! They've never come to our school; this could be a great opportunity for our music program! Just because you don't think your dads would let you go, you don't want them to come?" I winced when she said 'dads'.

"Um, yea, that's what I just said." I already said no. Couldn't she just let us go?

"Come here and sit on the couch, Max. You too Nick" I walked over to the couch in the corner. Fang sat down and I, hesitantly, sat down next to him. We were in the corner and it was fairly dark. I'm not a fan of dark or closed off spaces. Mrs. Killer pulled up her chair and sat facing us, a little too close for my comfort.

"This is one of the best opportunities you'll ever get in your lifetime. If this is about the money, you could get in on scholarship, you just have to give it a try first." Mrs. Killer was just starting to annoy me now.

"This isn't about the money. I already told you, my family needs me here. I can't just leave." I was getting really fidgety.

"What about you," Mrs. Killer turned to Fang "is all of this about the money?" Fang shook his head.

"What is it about then? I don't understand. You said your fathers wouldn't let you go but couldn't your mothers try and reason with them?" I was at a loss for words. I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I thought schools were supposed to know about your family and not bring it up.

Fang looked up at me, swallowed back unshed tears, and then turned back to Mrs. Killer.

"Sorry, we have to go now" He said in a monotone voice "we'll get back to you." He stood up at the end of his sentence, glanced back at me and started to walk out.

"Ya, bye." I stood and walked out right behind Fang. He headed to the front doors of the school, I was right behind him.

Once outside, Fang walked around the corner of the school and sat down. I sat next to him as he was running his fingers through his hair.

"Where do you want me to start?" he asked, still looking down.

"The mom thing?" I questioned, my voice breaking on the word 'mom'. I was crying silently now. I had tears running down my face and there was no way I could stop them. He nodded at me as he wiped tears out of his eyes.

"The beginning." I knew this was it. I was finally going to tell someone about my life.

Fang let his long hair fall into his eyes as he drew in a breath. "When I was 4, and Ella was two, my _dad_" he put emphasis on the 'dad' "started drinking. After a year or so, he started to get violent. Greg loved Ella so much that, even when he was drunk, he cared for her and made sure she was always ok. But I just wasn't that lucky. He would beat me up and yell at me for doing the slightest thing wrong. I was only 5 so I would fight him back but that just made him madder." I tried to imagine him, younger than Angel, taking the beating of a drunk.

"My mom knew what he was doing to me but she pretty much ignored it. When I turned six, on my birthday, I was too exhausted to get out of bed. That's when she decided to care. She went to ask Greg to stop but, of course, he was drunk." Fang started to whisper. "I heard them fighting. Greg was denying everything that he ever did to me. Soon, my door burst open, as she ran in to hold me. She said everything would always be ok as long as I never told anyone in the authorities. Greg ran in and pulled me out of her arms. He locked me in the closet. I could hear her crying. I heard it all. Every punch. Every curse. And when she took her last breath she whispered 'it'll be ok Fang, I promise.' She was the only one that ever called me Fang but now I've gotten everyone but Greg to call me that." He turned his head and put it on his knees so he was facing me.

"So what's your story?" I was about to say nothing bad or exciting when he stopped me, "that's BS. Don't even try to lie to me, max."

I sighed but told him everything since the last day of school in grade 3 when it all started.

"…and now he threatens to hit Angel and Gazzy but he lets me take the beatings." I was barely whispering. I'd been crying the whole time.

"Show me your wrists" I looked up at Fang startled.

"W-what?" I stuttered looking back down. I had chosen this sweater because the sleeves were so long; no one would be able to see the bruises Jeb had given me last night.

"You heard me" he stated again, alarmingly "show me your wrists"

"No" I replied. That _wasn't_ happening.

"Max," his voice had softened, but not much "last night, I left you with your drunken step-father, who usually beats on you, and I saw him grab your arm so hard you _have_ to have a bruise" He looked down at me sympathetically.

"Fine" I mumbled as I rolled up my sleeves.

**FANG POV**

Max held her arms out at me to show me the bruises. The second I saw them, my jaw clenched. I had to force myself to stay put rather than hunting down that loser and kick his ass into tomorrow.

I know that I have some similar bruises, but I'm a guy, and I'm his actual son.

Max looked pretty uncomfortable, and then I realized I hadn't responded. I looked back to her wrists then shrugged my sweater off.

**MAX POV**

Holy shit. That's for two reasons. 1) Fang had it way worse than me. He had bruises and cuts, old and new all over his arms, and 2) Have you seen his _arms_?... pretend I didn't just think that.

"Ouch" was all I could say at the moment. I was in shock.

"It's not _that_ bad" Fang rolled his eyes at me.

I pushed my sleeves back down. "I'm sorry, Fang. I shouldn't have thought that you were better than me."

"Like I said, it's not a big deal to me, so don't worry about it" Fang was looking at me as though I shouldn't be concerned. I was about to yell 'are you freaking kidding me! You idiot that is a big deal and you should care!' but we were interrupted.

"Nicholas, what happened to your arms?" Mrs. Mortuary was staring at Fangs arms in confusion. _Oh, shit. This isn't good._


End file.
